


The Side Effects of Catnip

by BlueMoonVonIdaho



Series: Kitty Tendencies [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien on Catnip, Adrinette for like two seconds, Nino deserves a medal, Nino knows Adrien is Chat Noir, Oh and hints of DJWifi if you squint, Plagg actually being nice for once, UGH KILL ME NOW, cat behavior, my first ever contribution to this fandom and THIS is what I have to say for myself, seriously give this kid a medal he puts up with so much here, sort of hurt/comfort?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 15:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6860686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMoonVonIdaho/pseuds/BlueMoonVonIdaho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Adrien has a mishap in the pet store, it's up to Nino to keep his friend from doing anything he might regret. But getting out of that situation is only the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Side Effects of Catnip

**Author's Note:**

> Working title: "Adrien is exposed to catnip and Nino is really not prepared to deal with this situation"
> 
> I like the idea that any "animal instincts" Marinette and Adrien acquire would depend on the frequency of their transformations. Marinette would barely have to deal with anything, since she transforms almost solely for Akuma attacks, but Adrien probably transforms almost every day, so he gets hit with cat instincts both in and out of costume.

Going into the pet store was Alya’s idea. She’d spotted the small shop while wandering around town with Nino and Adrien and dragged Marinette to a halt.

“Look over there!” she said excitedly. “You can buy some supplies for that stray you mentioned!”

“Oh! That’s a good idea!” Marinette agreed, already moving in the direction of the store.

Nino frowned, a few steps behind the conversation. “Wait, wait, what stray?”

Alya sighed and elbowed Nino, but there was an affectionate lilt to her voice as she replied, “There’s been a stray cat running around Marinette’s neighborhood for the last few weeks, and she’s thinking of adopting it.”

Marinette shook her head. “I’m not—he already belongs to someone, Alya! But…he comes and stays in my room sometimes, and I thought it might be nice to have a few toys and…things for him. I should probably get some more catnip, too. I’m almost out.”

“That’s really nice of you, Marinette,” Adrien said, hiding a Chat Noir-like smirk behind a warm smile. Marinette squeaked quietly and flushed red. From behind her, Nino gave his friend a look. He knew all about Chat Noir’s late-night visits to Marinette’s balcony, but he clearly hadn’t realized just how friendly the two had become.

Letting the girls get ahead of them, Nino grabbed Adrien’s arm and whispered, “Cat toys?”

“Well, um, we’re friends, and you know…side effects…” the blond gestured helplessly. He didn’t want to go into more detail with Marinette and Alya nearby. “She’s thoughtful like that,” he finished weakly.

Nino nodded his understanding and relinquished his grip. He also knew that as Chat Noir, and sometimes even as Adrien, his friend displayed certain feline behaviors. It was an unfortunate side effect of transforming into a superhero who was essentially half-cat on a regular basis. Ladybug dealt with side effects of her own, although they were less severe since she transformed far less often. Adrien had never asked for specifics out of respect for her privacy, and she had done the same.

Inside the store, the four teens split up and scattered to explore their tastes. Marinette cooed over the hamsters for several minutes before heading for the cat toys. Alya gravitated to the Ladybug-themed accessories the store sold. Nino wandered the aisles at random, looking at whatever attracted his attention. Adrien, who had never been in a pet store before, just looked around at everything, although he did his best to avoid the cat supply section. No need to seek out temptation.

Almost half an hour passed before Nino texted him, saying that they were ready to go. Adrien sent an affirmative and made his way back to the front of the store.

He had the unfortunate luck to round a corner just as Marinette was coming in the other direction with an open bag of catnip in one hand. She nearly bumped into him before yelping and jerking back. She threw up her hands in the same movement, clearly forgetting that she was holding, well, an open bag of catnip.

At least half of the contents went flying, most of it showering over Adrien. Flakes of catnip clung to his shirt and settled in his hair. A few pieces found their way into his mouth, and their surprisingly sweet taste exploded across his tongue.

“OhmygoshI’msosorryareyouokay?!” Marinette yelped. She looked from Adrien to the catnip bag and back to Adrien, a look of complete and utter horror on her face.

“It’s fine, Marinette, really,” Adrien insisted. He reached up and began brushing the catnip off of himself as he spoke, though he was well aware that it was too late to keep himself from being affected. “It was an accident. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have startled you like that.”

“Whoa, Adrien, what happened to you?” A voice asked from behind him. The blond turned to see Alya and Nino making their way toward him.

Adrien opened his mouth to reply, but Marinette beat him to the punch. “I just—I-I wasn’t looking where I was going, a-and—it’s all my fault—I’m really s-sorry, Adrien!”

Alya put the palm of her hand on her forehead, while Nino looked confused.

“It’s fine, Marinette, really,” Adrien insisted. “It’s just catnip,” he added with a reassuring smile. A warm, pleasant feeling in his chest—the catnip was already starting to take effect—made it even easier to keep giving her a friendly look. Marinette eventually peeked up at him through her bangs and squeaked out another _sorry_ before going to the register to pay with Alya in tow.

Nino turned to face Adrien the minute the two girls were out of sight. “Dude, does catnip…you know, affect you?”

The model nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think it’ll be too bad, since I’m not transformed, but I should still probably get out of here.”

The boys were interrupted by Alya and Marinette’s return. Marinette wouldn’t meet Adrien’s eyes, as usual, but she did stammer out another apology. Adrien gave her a smile in return and slung an arm around her shoulders. The part of him that was still thinking rationally screamed at him to let go and just get out of there before the effects of the catnip got any worse, but he didn’t want to be rude and leave without a good excuse.

“Dude, are you okay?” Nino gave his friend a concerned look.

Adrien grinned lazily. He felt warm and comfortable, as if someone had wrapped him in a thick, fuzzy blanket. “I’m great. Why do you ask?” Other than the fact that he’d just had a ridiculous amount of catnip dumped on him and was probably going into a catnip coma, transformed or not.

Nino paused for a second before he seemed to seize on an idea. “You look kind of tired.”

“Huh?” Adrien asked. It took as second for him to realize that his friend was trying to give him a way out of the situation. He faked a yawn and said, “Oh, yeah. My dad’s having my try out a medication for my allergies, since I’ll be doing a lot of outdoor photo shoots pretty soon. It makes me sleepy sometimes. I thought I was fine, but…” he trailed off, not entirely sure what he’d been planning to say next.

He kept his arm over Marinette’s shoulders, enjoying the contact, while the group made their way out of the shop. He liked the feeling of warmth radiating through her jacket. He shifted his grip as casually as possible to draw her closer to him. Now he could feel that wonderful warmth against his side, too. If he was transformed right now, he would definitely be purring. Could he even purr as Adrien? More importantly, would it be too much if he casually rubbed his head against Marinette’s?

A sharp pain in his foot brought him (somewhat) back to reality. He realized with a jolt that he was seriously invading Marinette’s personal space. She was already nervous around him as it was—he didn’t need to go and make it worse. Adrien quickly removed his arm and took a step back, establishing a buffer of space between himself and a red-faced Marinette.

“Sorry,” Adrien mumbled. “That was…”

Nino was next to him now. Nino would be okay with a little friendly arm-draping, right? He did it to Adrien all the time.

He really needed to get better at finishing his sentences before losing his train of thought.

§§§

“Sorry about that,” Nino said to Alya. “The dude’s kind of out of it at the moment. I should probably get him home before he falls asleep on me. Literally,” he added, looking at the way Adrien was leaning against him. He should probably be apologizing to Marinette, but she was blushing bright red and mumbling something along the lines of _he touched me oh my gosh I’m never washing this jacket again_. Alya was cool. She’d pass it on.

Adrien shifted slightly, and Nino stepped on his foot again. The blond jerked upright and shook his head back and forth. Nino took the opportunity to steer him down the street. “Later, dudes!” he called over his shoulder.

Alya waved and shouted a farewell, while Marinette squeaked out what might have been _bye_. Despite the serious situation, Nino chuckled to himself. He knew all about Marinette’s crush on his best friend, and he was sure they were just waiting for him and Adrien to round the corner before they started screaming excitedly at each other. That was assuming Marinette didn’t faint from excitement first. Adrien was never going to hear the end of this; if not from Nino, then from Plagg.

Fortunately, the Agreste mansion was just around the corner and up the street. By some stroke of luck, there were very few passerby. Adrien’s behavior definitely would have attracted stares if they were in a crowded area. He wasn’t making any effort to hide the fact that he was leaning against Nino now, and Nino had to keep reminding him that he needed to get home before things got any worse.

Nino was forced to put an arm around his friend to hold him upright when they reached the front gate of the mansion. Adrien seemed to take the fact that they had reached his house as his cue to slump against Nino in an attempt to make as much physical contact as possible, leaving his friend to keep them moving.

“Keep it together, dude!” the DJ hissed as he punched in the code that would open the gate. If Adrien registered his words, he didn’t show any sign of it.

By the time the pair made it through the front door, Adrien seemed to have lost all desire to do anything but cling to Nino like he was a life preserver in the middle of the ocean. Nino half-dragged his friend through the house until he finally reached Adrien’s room.

Plagg leaped out of the Adrien’s pocket the moment the two reached the safety of the giant bedroom. Nino extricated himself from his friend’s grip and settled him on his bed before closing and locking the door. The kwami had vanished, probably to gorge himself on one of the many stashes of cheese he kept hidden in Adrien’s room.

Nino texted his parents to let them know he’d be staying over with Adrien for the night. He wasn’t going to leave his friend alone in this state. With that done, the DJ sat down on the couch and prepared to wait however long it took until the catnip wore off.

No sooner had he made himself comfortable than something bumped against his shoulder. Nino wasn’t overly surprised when he turned and saw Adrien looking at him. The blond’s eyes were wide and slightly unfocused, while his face wore an expression that was a cross between pleading and slack-jawed ecstasy. He closed and reopened his eyes in a slow blink before burying his face in Nino’s shoulder and rubbing it with his head.

“Dude…” Nino began, then stopped when he realized that Adrien probably wasn’t listening and definitely wasn’t in any shape to care about what he was saying. “…okay. Whatever. Do your thing.”

He was startled by a soft rumbling noise. At first, he glanced out the window for signs of another Akuma attack, but then he realized the sound was coming from Adrien. The teen had taken the opportunity to wrap his arms around Nino and curl up on the couch, pressing his entire body as close to the DJ as possible. He was still rubbing his head and face vigorously against Nino’s arm in a very feline display of affection.

Nino shifted uncomfortably, but that just prompted Adrien to tighten his hold. The teen slumped against the back of the couch in defeat. He hoped he wouldn’t have to use the bathroom anytime soon.

There were still flakes of catnip clinging to Adrien’s hair, and Nino reached over with his free hand to brush them off. It was weird, but it really wasn’t much weirder than his friend acting like a large, friendly house cat. And maybe if he got rid of the catnip it would wear off faster? With that thought in mind, the DJ ran his and through Adrien’s hair, trying to remove as much catnip as possible. As if on cue, the rumbling noise increased in volume.

Wait. Was Adrien…purring?

He’d mentioned that he could purr as Chat Noir, but Nino had never seen him purr as Adrien before. Actually, he hadn’t seen him purr before, period. It was definitely weird, and it only added to the “large, friendly house cat” image.

A burst of laughter caught Nino’s attention. Plagg was hovering a few feet away, a wedge of cheese in his paws.

“Oh, this is too funny,” the kwami snickered. “This is the best thing I’ve ever seen! It’s one thing to experience it, but watching it happen…this is almost as good as camembert!” He tossed the cheese he was holding into the air and swallowed it in one bite, as if to prove his point.

Nino glared at Plagg before gesturing to Adrien with the arm that wasn’t pinned to his side by an overly affectionate teenage boy. “Is he gonna be okay?”

Plagg yawned dismissively. “He just had too much catnip. He’ll be fine in the morning.”

“Oh,” Nino finally said. He glanced down at Adrien again.

“Don’t ever tell him I said this, but he’s lucky to have a friend like you,” Plagg remarked in an offhand tone. “You mean a lot to him. Probably more than you think. Cheese is still the best, obviously, but friends are a close second.”

Before Nino could ask what that meant, the kwami took off, vanishing into the deepening shadows that were filling the room. City lights gradually flickered on outside until the windows showed a stunning panorama of the Parisian skyline, faintly illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun.

Since he wasn’t going anywhere, Nino tried to keep himself amused with his phone. After a while, it became easier to ignore his friend’s affectionate nudging and rubbing. The purring continued, a constant, soothing hum. It was actually pretty impressive that Adrien could keep that purr going for so long. Nino didn’t think he’d stopped since the two boys took their places on the couch.

He was still wondering exactly how Adrien did that when he drifted off to sleep.

§§§

Adrien came back to consciousness slowly. His head ached dully and the back of his throat felt raw. His limbs felt heavy and stiff, a sensation that wasn’t painful, but was definitely uncomfortable.

He’d know a catnip hangover anywhere, but he couldn’t remember visiting Marinette last night. They had gone to the pet store, and Marinette had accidentally thrown catnip all over him, then Nino had dragged him home…

 _Oh_.

Everything after entering the house was lost in a blur of catnip-induced ecstasy, but Adrien hoped he hadn’t made Nino too uncomfortable with his antics. A quick glance to the side dashed those hopes pretty quickly.

Nino was asleep sitting up, with his head tilted back to rest against one arm and drool running down his chin. His phone teetered on the edge of the couch where he’d forgotten it. Adrien was curled up next to him with his arms around Nino’s waist, his head resting on his friend’s shoulder, and the rest of him burrowed into Nino’s side. He was also pinning the DJ’s other arm against his body, which couldn’t be comfortable at all.

Adrien crawled off of the couch, moving carefully so he wouldn’t wake Nino. Fortunately, his friend seemed to be fast asleep. The blond grabbed a change of clothes and headed for his bathroom. While experience had taught him that he couldn’t be affected by catnip again until the hangover faded, he’d rather not push his luck after the events of the previous evening. He owed Nino a serious apology.

A cold shower jogged the teen into awareness, and he felt slightly better when he emerged from the bathroom. Nino was awake and looking around blearily, squinting against the early-morning sunlight that now peeked through the windows.

“Hey, Nino,” Adrien said. He plopped down heavily on the couch. “Sorry about last night.”

“It’s cool, dude,” Nino said, waving off the apology.

Adrien frowned. “Are you sure? Did I do anything…uncomfortable?”

Nino clapped a hand onto his friend’s shoulder. “You were kind of cuddly, but that’s it. Seriously, dude, it’s fine. If you tried to get too touchy I would have stopped you. I know you weren’t really in control of yourself. Don’t sweat it.”

Adrien put a hand on his friend’s arm. “No, really, thanks for sticking with me. I know I can be kind of annoying when I’m on catnip—or so Marinette tells me, anyway,” he added with a chuckle. He remembered more than one occasion where he had awoken from a catnip coma to find that Marinette had somehow hauled him onto her chaise lounge, and then been gently teased for not having enough self-control. He always replied shamelessly that he only ever took as much as she gave him, so it was really her fault.

Wait. Marinette.

Adrien smacked his palm against his forehead. “Oh, no, Marinette! What am I going to say to her?”

“I don’t know, dude,” Nino told him honestly. “I think you broke her with the arm thing.” He mimicked draping his arm around someone’s shoulders and pulling them much closer than was really necessary.

“Ugh, I’m such a moron,” Adrien muttered. “She already gets nervous around me, and I probably made it a thousand times worse last night!” He didn’t notice Nino sharing a significant look with Plagg.

Nino moved forward and patted Adrien on the back. “Hey, relax, dude. Like I said, it’s totally not your fault. And besides, Marinette’s really chill. She’ll forgive you for sure if you just apologize.”

Adrien sighed and threw his hands up. “I know, but—I just can’t help but feel like I’m taking advantage of her. And here I am dumping all my problems on you and making you deal with my messes.”

Nino’s hands came down on Adrien’s shoulders, forcing him to turn so the two boys were facing each other. “Dude.” The DJ’s voice was deadly serious. “You can’t handle everything by yourself all the time. That’s why I’m here for you!”

“Thanks, Nino,” Adrien muttered, pulling his friend into a tentative hug. “I—I really appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“No problem, dude.” Nino hugged his friend back, so tightly that it felt for a moment like all the air would be driven from Adrien’s lungs. He reciprocated, hesitantly at first, but then with more certainty. Plagg made gagging noises in the background and complained about how cheese was so much better than people, as usual, but both boys ignored him.

And if Adrien briefly rubbed his face against Nino’s shoulder in a cat-like gesture of affection, neither of them mentioned it.

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone was wondering, Adrien's reactions to the catnip (warm, pleasant feelings, strong desires for physical contact, etc.) are based off of the actual effect of catnip on cats. Normally, they'd be mild enough for him to ignore them, but there's no resisting having half a bag of catnip dumped on your head.
> 
> Also, I'm considering making this into a series of one-shots detailing Adrien's reactions to cat things, both in and out of costume (and also lots more of Nino knowing who Chat Noir is and helping Adrien deal with that, because I like the idea and I'm a sucker for Adrien/Nino friendship interactions in general).


End file.
